


E-R-I-N

by telemain



Category: MASH (TV)
Genre: Epistolary, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 23:39:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11069481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/telemain/pseuds/telemain
Summary: Letters by, from, about, and to, Erin Hunnicutt after the war.





	E-R-I-N

#### 1956

**Excerpt from a letter from Peg Hunnicutt to her mother Esther**

.. one of those things that will probably be funny in about ten years. Erin looked up from her breakfast and asked BJ "Daddy, how many bad guys did you shoot in the war?" After he finished choking on his coffee, he told her he'd served as a doctor, and Erin looked - can you imagine? - disappointed. Apparently her friend Davey's dad always talks about how many Japanese and North Koreans (except he uses different terms) he killed when he was in the Army. BJ tried to explain to her that the world isn't divided into "good guys" and "bad guys", but I'm not sure she got it. That's a big concept for a six year old. I'm not sure I want Erin to play over at the Henricksons' anymore ...

* * *

#### 1957

**One of Erin's (age 6) school assignments. Spelling and grammar preserved:**

**what my Daddy does by Ǝrin Honeycut**  


****

My daddy’s name is BJ he is a Doctor that means he helps sick people to get better. He's been a Doctor for a long time I think at least 100 years. He has an Office in Mill valley where the sick people come except when there too sick and then he has to go to them. When I was a baby his office was in Koria where there was a war and he had to help people who got shot or blew up. He says he was never afraid or got hurt he was just very busy and ate bad food and missed home and me and mommy. But now he works hard every day except Sondays for church and ~~wenh~~ ~~when~~ the day he goes golfing. my Daddy is happy being a doctor and When I grow up I'm going to be a Doctor to and help people. 

(Erin's teacher's only written comment: " _No, honey. Boys become doctors, girls become nurses._ ")

(Erin's reaction to her teacher's comment: Tears.)

(BJ's reaction to Erin's reaction: Unreprintable.)

* * *

#### 1963

**Reply by BJ to letter from Sherman Potter, regarding the Second Decennial 4077th Reunion:**

Dear Sherman,

(It still feels funny calling you that.) 

Of course I'll be there, and I'll be bringing Peg and Erin too. Erin especially can't wait to meet everyone and put faces to the names in all the stories I've told her. I can't believe it's been eleven years since the first time I had this crazy idea. I wonder if the staff at the Pierre Hotel remembers everyone.

See you in Manhattan!

BJ Hunnicutt

* * *

#### 1963

**Reply by Hawkeye to a letter from Erin (age 12)**

Dear Erin,

I'd love to have seen the look on your dad's face when you told him your friend's dad was on that list I gave you of BJ's patients. It really is a very small world. You're very welcome again, and actually Klinger deserves some credit too -- he helped me keep it up to date after I thought of it. (All the neat writing is his.) I’m just glad I was able to finally get it to you in person. 

Love,  
Hawkeye

PS - All he ever told me was he was named after his mother "Bea" and his father "Jay", but even his Army record listed him as "BJ". If you do manage to get it out of him, please let me know.

* * *

#### 1965

**Excerpt from Erin's diary, age 14:**

Dear diary,

Every time I ask about the war, Daddy says he never was in danger and he never got hurt.

Daddy's been lying to me. I was helping Mom clean out their closet and I found his discharge papers. He was awarded medals. A Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. 

I know what those medals mean. Dave's dad has his medals framed on the wall in his den. A Bronze Star (he says) is when you do something really brave. A Purple Heart is when you get hurt doing something really brave. His are for going out in enemy fire to rescue his Lieutenant. He got the Lt back and got shot doing it.

(I once asked him where he got shot. He looked over at Dave and they both said "In Korea!" in unison. I guess he gets asked that question a lot.)

I wonder what Daddy did. I wonder if it's something he's not proud of. 

I wonder if he threw away the medals.

* * *

#### 1965

**Excerpt from a reply from Father Mulcahy to a letter from Erin (still age 14)**

… I would implore you not to think of your father’s actions as “lying”, rather as “protectiveness”. I hesitate to tell you what you should do, but perhaps what you can do is reflect on his motives, and imagine yourself in his situation. 

The dilemma of knowing a secret but having to act as if you do not is one I often find myself in, and I have long thought that…

* * *

#### 1968

**Excerpt from a reply by Margaret Houlihan to a letter from Erin (age 17)**

... the world I grew up in, but the world has changed. I don't know what I would have chosen, if I had had a choice, but I know this: You don't need to listen to your teachers or your friends or even your boyfriend. If you want to go to med school and be a doctor, then you go for it. And if you're even half as good as your father, you'll be a ~~dam~~ darn good one. Don't tell him I told you that. Speaking of your boyfriend...

* * *

#### 1971

**Letter from BJ to Hawkeye:**

Dear Hawk,

You'll never believe what happened the other day. Erin's okay now, but on Thursday I got a phone call saying she'd passed out in class and they took her to the hospital. I drove down into the city at top speed and was talking to the doctor who'd seen her inside 15 minutes of arriving. Erin's really been pushing herself. According to her doctor, it was just exhaustion, stress, so forth. I made some sort of a joke about how pre-med might be the most stressful part of being a doctor.

That's how I found out he'd served in Korea. With a MASH unit in Korea, near Uijeongbu. Then I looked at his nametag and asked if they used to call him "'Trapper' John".

That's right, Hawk; I bumped into 'Trapper' John MacIntyre, formerly of M*A*S*H 4077, at SF Memorial Hospital, and purely because Erin wasn't taking good enough care of herself. Small world, huh? 

I've enclosed a note from him, he wanted your address but I didn't know if I should give him that. I guess now you have one more reason to come see San Francisco someday.

Take care,

BJ

* * *

#### 1973

**Excerpt from a letter from Erin (age 22), at the time in St Louis at the Third Decennial 4077th Reunion, to her boyfriend**

Dear Dave,

Yes. Yes, I will marry you - in a few years. It's not fair to either of us to be married and try to start a life together while I'm still in school. I did need time to think about it, but I didn't want to keep you in suspense until I got back.

Now that you're done jumping up and down, let me tell you about everything else going on. I was a bit disappointed that we weren't going back to Manhattan this time, but Colonel Sherman wouldn't have been able to travel that far. St Louis is only about 100 miles from where he lives, and it's almost more convenient for everyone. Only Dr Charles and Dr Hawkeye have to travel further because of the change.

Sometimes it's strange to think that I'm older than many of the soldiers they treated during the war - speaking of which, remind me when I get back to press your dad on where exactly he was wounded, and I do _not_ want to hear "In Korea!" - and that just makes clear how long it's been.

If the number of "MASH kids" around here didn't. Trapper John didn't bring his daughters, but besides me, Colonel Sherman's grandson is here, as are two of Radar's three boys, Klinger's twin daughters - both of whom, he says, are individually as much trouble as he was in Korea, or worse - and Charles Winchester the, God help us, Fourth. (We got to discussing careers. He told me his father said he can be whatever he wants: any kind of doctor at all, or a classical musician is also acceptable. Did I say God help _us_? God help _him_.) Dr Hawkeye doesn’t have any kids and he doesn’t seem unhappy about it; Miss Margaret doesn’t either and she kind of does. Of course, Father Francis doesn’t have any kids himself, or, put another way, everyone’s his kids. 

But enough about that. Let me tell you about some thoughts I had - about you, and about me, and mostly about us - last night…

* * *

#### 1976

... request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter ERIN ANNE to DAVID MICHAEL HENRICKSON on ...

* * *

#### 1979

**Excerpt from a letter from Erin to Sherman Potter**

… I had thought we might name him Richard, after Dave’s older brother Ricky who never came back from Vietnam, but Peter (Dave’s dad) asked us not to; I think it would be too painful for him to have a Ricky Henrickson around again. So we used Richard as the middle name and - Dave being completely against the idea of a David Henrickson Jr - we needed a first name, and as much as my dad protests, the rest of us agree that “BJ” is not a name that should be inflicted on future generations. Long story short - you’ll find enclosed a picture of Sherman Richard Henrickson…

* * *

#### 1980

**Excerpt from a letter from BJ Hunnicutt to his daughter**

… on your first Mother’s Day. Being your father has been the greatest joy of my life. I love you so much, and I’m very proud of everything you’ve done and everything you are. I’ll come visit soon…


End file.
